June Updates

Two weeks ago, Layla had her last Little Gym class of the semester.  We have been taking classes at the gym since Layla was only five months old and I have to say, she looks forward to going and seeing her friends every week.  She started off as a Bug and has "graduated" twice - first to a Bird and then to a Beast. 

It was also the last day for her teacher, Ms. Gretchen, at the Cranford gym.  Layla is going to miss her very much in the fall! She loves Ms. Gretchen!

We decided to take the summer off from classes in order to take swim lessons at the Woodbridge Club.  Although Layla enjoyed her first lesson, she came down with a nasty cold, which turned into an ear infection.  It was bad enough that she was sick, but then I had double pink eye, and we continued passing it on to my sister, my mom, and then finally Monte! My dad was the person who spent time with Layla and didn't get sick.  And let me tell you, it was one of the most miserable illnesses I have ever had.  We were basically quarantined for a week and a half and had to cancel all sorts of fun plans.  We are going to try to get a refund for the remainder of her classes, because I definitely do not feel comfortable going back to that facility!

Anyway, although we stayed close to home, we made the most of this past weekend.  We caught the last night of the carnival at Saint John Vianney church.  Layla was super psyched to have somewhere to go in the evening when she normally would have been getting ready for bed.  She rode on the train, the merry-go-round and an elephant ride.  Because she is such a shorty, she had a hard time meeting the height requirement for some rides, but we met a nice woman who volunteered her daughter to be Layla's "buddy". 

Sunday was my dad's birthday, so we celebrated both of our birthdays at the Shannon Rose in Woodbridge.  We had a nice lunch together.  It was a fun afternoon.

Family (minus Monte, who was taking the picture)

After lunch, we went to Pier 1 Imports, which is one of my favorite home stores.  Monte found this amazing hanging lantern for such a steal! He filled it with a string of lights and it looks great in our gazebo.

Finally, last night I was bored, so I cleaned out my jewelry drawer.  Not only did I get a pretty big bag of stuff to give away, I made a really cute earring holder! I filled a clear vase with blue stones that I had hiding in a drawer and then stuck in a wire "tree" that was from Easter.  Voila! Isn't it cute?

That's it for now!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my playful, loving, supportive dad and to my hard-working, amazing husband, Monte.  Layla and I are so incredibly lucky to have the both of you in our lives. 

I made Monte a photo book, and included this beautiful poem, entitled "Father" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

Father

He never made a fortune, or a noise
In the world where men are seeking after fame;
But he had a healthy brood of girls and boys
Who loved the very ground on which he trod.
They thought him just little short of God;
Oh you should have heard the way they said his name –
‘Father.’

There seemed to be a loving little prayer
In their voices, even when they called him ‘Dad.’
Though the man was never heard of anywhere,
As a hero, yet somehow understood
He was doing well his part and making good;
And you knew it, by the way his children had
Of saying ‘Father.’

He gave them neither eminence nor wealth,
But he gave them blood untainted with a vice,
And opulence of undiluted health.
He was honest, and unpurchable and kind;
He was clean in heart, and body, and in mind.
So he made them heirs to riches without price –
This father.

He never preached or scolded; and the rod –
Well, he used it as a turning pole in play.
But he showed the tender sympathy of God.
To his children in their troubles, and their joys.
He was always chum and comrade with his boys,
And his daughters – oh, you ought to hear them say
‘Father.’

Now I think of all achievements ‘tis the least
To perpetuate the species; it is done
By the insect and the serpent, and the beast.
But the man who keeps his body, and his thought,
Worth bestowing on an offspring love-begot,
When the highest earthly glory he was won,
When in pride a grown-up daughter or a son
Says ‘That’s Father.’


Happy Father's Day again to all of the daddy's out there!

Two Great Causes

I have two great causes that I would like to share.  The first is the Kids With Food Allergies Foundation.  This is a phenomenal resource for families and educators of children with food allergies.  By clicking on the link, you can vote to help this worthy foundation win a grant to educate families and offer family support to those who are affected by food allergies.  You can vote once a day every day though August 27th.

Vote Here Every Day!

While you are in a charitable mood, earn some extra karma points by making a donation to help fund a child's education! My friend has started a blog in the hopes of helping to earn college tuition for her younger sister, Sacred.  Every dollar counts.  I honestly cannot think of a more worthy cause than the education of women.  Check out her blog and please make a donation.

                                                              A Girl Needs An Education

Thanks for your help!

Happy June!

June begins another string of birthdays in our family.  My mother-in-law, Victoria, celebrated her birthday yesterday, June 1st!  Monte and I had a doctor appointment in the afternoon, but afterwards we stopped by her house to have a little celebration, complete with pizza and ice cream cake. Layla was happy to see her Jidda (Grandma) and her aunts and cousin, Christian! It was a nice way to spend a weekday evening.

Happy Birthday, Victoria!

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This evening, I took Layla to the Holy Trinity Greek Fest in Cranford (www.NJGreekfest.com).  It was such beautiful weather and a fun way to spend the evening.  My parents and MaryGrace came too, and we sampled many Greek dishes.  We had Greek Salad, Spanakopita, Gyro, Chicken Souvlaki and Greek Fries.  We didn't even have room for dessert!

Layla's favorite part of the festival, however, was the Greek dancers and music.  She had a blast clapping and dancing to the music and watching the Dance Troupe perform.  She kept asking for more! My mom bought her an Elmo t-shirt and tickets to jump in the fire truck bounce house.  She was the only kid in line at the time, so the man in charge of the ride let her jump for as long as she wanted.  We literally had to DRAG her out of the house.  She had such a great time!  Festivals are one of my favorite things about summer and it's exciting that Layla is old enough to really enjoy herself.

Memorial Day Weekend / Backyard Projects

What a beautiful long weekend! It really started on Thursday, when Layla and I took a trip down to Avon-By-The-Sea with my sister and parents.  It was our first beach trip of the year, and although it was foggy and a bit chilly on the beach, we had a fun day!

                                       

 

After Monte came home on Friday afternoon, we went and bought our pool! We got a pretty good deal on a 16' x 48'' Intex Metal Frame Pool.  Monte said it only took an hour to put together, which he did on Saturday afternoon.  Layla and I knew better than to be home when Monte had a project to do (haha), so we spent the day in Cranford. 

On Sunday, we got a LOT of yardwork done (pictures below!) and then went to a friend's BBQ.  Another gorgeous night!  On Memorial Day, we went to the parade and to a diner for breakfast.  In the afternoon, my mom, dad and sister came over for an impromptu BBQ / pool party.  Then Monte and I did another 3 or 4 hours of yardwork! 

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I am so happy that we've made enough progress in the yard to actually post some pictures.  We have a lot of work left to do, but I am satisfied with the projects that we have completed.  Although we have been living in our house for almost four years, we have made so many changes to the outside (removed concrete patio, replaced with pavers, cut down four HUGE trees, removed 150 ft of english ivy landscaping, removed hedges, etc., fenced backyard) and it's finally starting to look how we envisioned it.

  

Our House

In the front of our house, we have planted hydrangeas, day lilies, lavender, hostas, morning glory and verbena (impatiens, petunias, blue lobelia, coleus and snap dragons in pots)

Front Entrance

Moss "N" that I made this spring for our front door

  
                                                     Hanging Baskets

  

Here is a before and after picture of our backyard from March of this year to May of this year:

View from side entrance (after we put up the fence) - BEFORE

AFTER

Monte and I created this garden for our rose bushes in the back corner of our yard.  We added a solar fountain feature to our bird bath.

Monte made this adorable table and stools from the tree trunks of the trees we had taken down.  I sanded them and we still need to stain them.  Layla loves eating here or coloring!

 Monte added this edger to the side of our patio and I planted purple coneflowers and black eyed susans. I also planted hyacinth bean seeds near the shephard's hook. 

                       
                                                    Pots near back door

                                                            Sitting Area

                                                      Perennial Garden

                                                      Tea Cup Bird Feeder

Monte is going to build another vegetable garden in this area for pumpkins and watermelons.  I also planted wildflowers here.

                      The beautiful raised vegetable garden beds that Monte built!

 

That's it for now! The next big project is the side of our house (ugh!!), so I hope to have some before and after photos by the weekend.  Happy Summer!

Layla at 21 months

Every six months, I have been writing a letter to Layla.  In the letters, I tell her about the milestones that she has reached, her personality and anything important that is going on in our lives. My intentions are to give Layla the letters when she is older so she will have an account of what she was like when she was little.

I'm not writing her a letter again until she turns two, but she has changed so much since she was eighteen months that I wanted to write it down.

At twenty-one months, Layla is such a character.  She loves to color, go on the swings and play with her animals and dolls. She loves dancing, especially to Usher's "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" and going to The Little Gym.  She can count to 12, although she always leaves out 4.  She is the greatest hummer ever and always hums entire songs while she plays.  Her favorites are the Caillou theme, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, If All the Raindrops, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.  She has begun to string words together and is even making simple sentences ("Walking...Mommy walk, Daddy walk", "Elephant sit, monkey sit, roar (lion) sit". She just started saying "Love you" which melts my heart! 

Layla is more affectionate than any child I have ever met.  She loves to hug and kiss her family members.  One of the cutest things that she does is push everyone together for a group hug and then sing the "I Love You" song from Barney.  She takes good care of her dolls, and gives them bottles, burps them, and takes them for walks in their stroller.  She even takes them to the doctor and examines them with a magnifying glass (haha).  I think it's time to buy her a doctor's kit.  I know she's going to be a great big sister.

Layla is also really testing her boundaries lately, which makes her simultaneously infuriating and hilarious.  It is so hard not to laugh sometimes when she shakes her finger at me and says, "No, no no!"  It's slightly less funny when she climbs out of her bed in the middle of the night and insists on sleeping ON me, not next to me.  She's a picky eater, but getting better (and rounder!).  She's still a tiny little girl.  Now, she just has the big attitude to go with the little body.

It shocks and surprises me how smart she is, too.  She is a master negotiator (when I say two books, she says, "Five??", when I ask her to have a bite of chicken, she says, "Soda?") actress (pretends to take a bite of food, says "Mmm!" and hides it in her fist) and imitator (pretending to be people, animals, forms of transportation).  One of my favorite things that she does is categorize things.  She'll name different kinds of shoes, things that you drink, her favorite foods, etc.  Her dimply smile lights up a room and she elicits big smiles from total strangers wherever we go.  Needless to say, I am completely smitten with my little Layla!

May Celebrations

May has always been a very busy month for me.  My sister and my mom  have back-to-back birthdays that fall around (or on) Mother's Day.  This year, my sister's birthday fell on Mother's Day and my mom wasn't feeling well, so I celebrated my second Mother's Day as a mom with just Monte and Layla.

We had a wonderful day in New York City.  In the morning, we walked around Greenwich Village and window shopped.  It was warm and breezy, and Layla loved being able to break out of the confines of her stroller and walk on her own. 



We stopped a restaurant called Silver Spurs for brunch.  Monte had a delicious burger and Layla and I shared a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries, blueberries and bananas. Yum!
 

After we ate, we hopped back in the car and drove up to Central Park.  We decided to take Layla to the Central Park Zoo.  I had never been before, and we all had a great time!  Layla especially loved the monkeys and the polar bear.

After New York, we stopped to see Layla's other grandmother.  By the time we got home, we were all exhausted! It was a wonderful Mother's Day.  I am blessed with a beautiful family.

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The next day, which was my mom's actual birthday, we celebrated at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  It was more of a party for Layla! She loves going to the Rainforest Cafe, eating french fries and seeing the animals. 

After lunch we spent the afternoon shopping.  MaryGrace had a lot of gift cards from friends and family.  In the evening, I made dinner (spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls).  As you can see, Layla was a big fan of the "meatmalls".

 Then it was time for cake! Unfortunately, my dad was sick and couldn't celebrate with us, and Monte was working all evening, but all in all, it was a fun girl's day!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Mimi!